


A Chance To Love

by thatsnotmyname32



Category: Chronicles of Narnia (Movies), Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dufflepuds are cute, F/M, Family Feels, Gen, Heart feels, I'm stumped for other tags, Susan returns to Narnia, Time Travel, happy ending for Susan and Caspian, since Aslan sent Susan backwards from where the others went, that's a technicality though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22649947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatsnotmyname32/pseuds/thatsnotmyname32
Summary: Susan is aboard the train when it crashes at the station. But instead of being sent on like the rest of her family, she wakes up centuries before them, where Aslan tells her he has brought her here to live out her life with the one person she ever truly loved. Caspian. AU, movie/book mash. CaspianXSusan.
Relationships: Caspian/Susan Pevensie
Comments: 4
Kudos: 98





	A Chance To Love

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! So I wrote this, starting from about three in the afternoon, and now it's ten thirty. Wow! I can't believe it! That's just not something I do, but I gotta tell you, it felt good. Anyway, I've been reading a whole bunch of Susan/Caspian fics over the last few days, and I think I'm in love with the pairing. Even though I'm more for the books than the movies. Never mind that, though. ;)

The crisp, cool London air surrounded her as she walked quickly to the train station. Twenty two year old Susan Pevensie was headed home, after spending a week with friends. The week had been a whirlwind of gossip, parties, and dress shopping, but now it was over and she was leaving. But already she and her friends Marjorie, Alison, and Fiona had made plans to meet up again like this in a couple of months. Susan smiled at the thought, looking forward to it already.

As she walked, the brief thought of how the rest of her family viewed her life flashed through her mind, and she frowned. They all thought she was wasting her time, especially Peter, and didn’t understand that she was _happy_. They were all too concerned with meeting up to chat about a kids game, rather than be serious and move on with their life. Sure, Peter was studying, Edmund was looking at his options, and Lucy was talking about one day going into nursing…

But they often dumped everything they were doing just to sit around and chat about _Narnia_! Susan _might_ have joined them, if they hadn’t been so insistent that it was real, instead of the game it was. And to make matters worse, they brought Professor Kirke into it, and he even encouraged them!

No matter, though. Susan still loved them, and they still loved her. Even if they did vex her with their constant talk of Narnia. She closed her eyes briefly, pushing away the image of a handsome, dark haired Prince, her heart speeding up briefly before returning to normal. It had been a game. A _game_.

The train station was in sight now, and she bought her ticket. It would only be a twenty minute trip at most, so she would be home soon. Standing on the platform, she checked the station clock, noting that it was almost nine thirty. Looking around, her gaze idly swept the faces of the commuters, not really expecting to see anyone she knew. So she was rather surprised to see her parents here. Smiling, Susan made her way over to them.

“Mum, dad,” she greeted them, and they turned in surprise, smiles forming on their faces.

“Susan!” Helen Pevensie greeted, moving to hug her daughter. “What an unexpected surprise! What are you doing here, darling?”

“I’m headed home,” Susan said, pulling back to then embrace her father. “I’ve been with the girls all week. What about you two?”

“We’re headed up to Bristol,” James Pevensie said. “To see Victor and Maribelle.”

Victor and Maribelle Harding were old friends of her parents, and Susan had grown up knowing their daughter Jennifer, who had had a crush on Peter for the longest time when the two girls were thirteen. “That’s wonderful!” she said. “Oh, you will say hello to them for me, won’t you? And ask after Jenny, too?”

“Of course we will, sweetheart!” Helen said with a small laugh.

They chatted awhile, then a bell sounded over the station’s loudspeaker, and a voice droned that their train would be there in one minute. As it came in and passed them slightly before coming to a stop, Susan watched through the windows, and she could have sworn she saw a familiar face, her cousin Eustace. But she let it be and boarded alongside her parents.

Susan and her parents continued talking as they travelled. As they left the station before her stop, she didn’t notice the increasing speed of the train. She didn’t even notice when the train took the corner before her stop too fast. But she _did_ notice when the train jolted off the track. And she _certainly_ noticed when the train car she was in tilted too far to the side, before rolling onto its side, throwing them about and headed straight for the platform.

“Mum! Dad!” she cried as she was tossed about the compartment.

She reached for her parents, they reached for her, then the car hit something, and the small room around her buckled at the impact. Susan grasped her mother’s hand, holding on for dear life, as her father pulled them both close. Debris fell on them from the ceiling and the walls, even as glass smashed down on them from the windows. Susan screamed, but that scream was cut off when something hit her in the back of her head.

She went down hard, then knew no more.

OoOoO

The sound of crashing waves lulled her from sleep. She sighed softly, eyes blinking open as she stretched, the sight of the dazzling blue sky and fluffy white clouds greeting her. She smiled happily, it was the sort of happiness you got from waking from a pleasant dream. She sat up looking around her, and saw that she was at the edge of a beach, sand on one side, grass beneath her and to the other side. Idly, she wondered where she was, since only a moment before she was…

…she was…

Susan’s eyes widened as she bolted to her feet. The train! They’d come off the tracks, and her parents had been with her. Had the train crashed? Then… how was she here? _Where_ was she, even?

“Mum!” she called. “Dad!”

She rushed along the beach, in through the sparse tree-line, calling out to them. There was nothing. Tears fell as time passed and she still didn’t find them. Finally, Susan stopped looking and sat on a stone that protruded from the ground, and wept. She felt so confused. What had happened? Was she _dead_? Were her parents dead also?

“Oi, young Missy!” a voice suddenly barked at her, and Susan was so surprised, she almost fell off her perch on the rock.

Looking around, she couldn’t see anyone, but then a voice called, “Down here, hey!” and she looked down to see a small… person… staring up at her.

“What…?”

“How the heck did you get here, Missy?” the small person asked. “This here’s an island, and unless you flew here, or even swam…”

An island? “Where am I?” she asked.

“This is the island where we live,” the person said. “I’m Tarton, I’m a Dufflepud.”

He said it so proudly, Susan couldn’t help a little smile. “I need to get back home,” she said. “There… there was an accident, my parents are hurt and I need to find them.”

“Oh, what a sweet Missy you are, to worry about your folks like that!” Tarton cooed. “Come on, I’ll take you to the chief. He’s extremely clever you know, I bet he can help you!”

Susan followed Tarton as he practically skipped ahead of her. As they went, she couldn’t help but look around her. Everything was beautiful here, not in the least wild as you might expect an island to be. Everything looked well tended, like a garden. And pretty soon, they’d arrived to manicured lawns, trim garden hedges, and even a maze. A little further off, she saw a mansion.

“Who lives there?” she asked, pointing to the building.

“A great and terrible magician!” Tarton said dramatically with a matching shiver. “Best not to cross paths with the likes of _him,_ young Missy!”

Susan nodded absently as she eyed off the building, then asked a question, one that had been growing in her mind, despite her denial of what it could mean. “Tarton? Is this… Are we in _Narnia_?”

“What’s a Narnia?” Tarton asked, and Susan wondered briefly if he knew of _anything_ outside his island home.

“It’s…” Susan started to explain, but then shook her head. “Never mind.”

Soon, they came across more like Tarton. “Chief! Chief! Where’s the Chief!” her guide called. “I found a young Missy on the beach!”

Several Dufflepuds came forward, eyeing her speculatively. “What’s this you got here?” one asked.

“How’d a Missy end up here?” another asked.

“Chief’s coming! Chief’s coming!” another called.

And indeed, a Dufflepud that was dressed a little fancier than the others appeared, and began to eye her off. “Hmm,” he said. “A Missy. Did that magician bring you here, I wonder? Poor thing.”

“I was in a train accident,” Susan said.

“Well, I don’t know what a ta-rain is,” the Chief said, “but if it brought you here, maybe another one could send you back?”

“How clever Chief!”

“An absolutely smashing idea!”

“Let’s get a ta-rain for the Missy?”

“Where could we even _find_ one?”

Susan shook her head. “There aren’t any trains here,” she told them. “I… Maybe the magician might know how to get me home?”

The Dufflepuds all startled, and looked on edge and flighty. “The magician!” they hissed. “The magician! The magician!”

“Actually, she might have a point,” the Chief said, and the others all gasped in shock. “Sure, he’s a terrible, terrible magician, but he has _knowledge_. He knows stuff! Maybe she can find something in his house that can help her.”

“Oh, what a brilliant plan!”

“As usual, the Chief’s done it again!”

“Marvellous! Marvellous!”

Susan sighed. She was getting the feeling these fellows weren’t all that bright. Closing her eyes briefly, she pushed aside the sadness she was still feeling, and said, “I’ll go see the magician. I’ve faced people like that before, I’ll be fine.”

“Oh what a brave Missy you are!” the Chief said, even as the others wept in admiration of her bravery. “Alright then! I’ll lead you to his house! The rest of you! About to your chores!”

“Yes Chief!” they all chorused, then took off.

Susan followed the Chief, who occasionally forgot she was there and got distracted a number of times, but eventually she ended up before the doors of the large manor she’d seen before.

“Well, here you go, Missy,” he said. “Good luck! I hope you come out alive. See you!” Then he was gone.

Staring up at the doors, Susan was about to enter, but then she remembered her manners, and knocked instead. The doors slowly opened, and she stepped inside. Once in, the doors shut fast behind her, startling her a little. Steeling herself, she turned back inward, but hadn’t taken more than a few steps before a deep, kindly voice sounded.

“Greetings, Daughter of Eve.”

Susan’s eyes darted unerringly to where an old man stood, barefoot and dressed in a deep blue robe. His white hair was crowned with oak leaves, and he held a carved staff in his hand. As he moved towards her, Susan realised that the purpose of the staff seemed to be to support him as he walked. And yet there was a grace to him that was undeniable, despite his age that caused him to have a presence, almost like a Lord.

“Do you know me?” she asked.

“I know _of_ you, Queen Susan,” he told her, and hearing that title, accompanied with her name, broke a dam in her, and Susan couldn’t help the tears that suddenly fell.

A hand pat her shoulder as she cried. “I’m s-sorry!” she sobbed. “It’s been such a terrible day! Though it started out well, I… I…”

“There, child,” he soothed. “Let it all out.”

And she did. Susan threw herself in his arms, sobbing loudly as the events from earlier caught up to her. She cried and cried until she could cry no more, and finally, she pulled away from him.

“I’m sorry,” she apologised again, weary from her tears.

“There is no need to apologise for your grief,” he told her. “You’ve lost people you love, it’s understandable.”

“How…?” She hadn’t actually said anything yet, so how did he know?

“Aslan came to me in a dream last night,” he told her. “He told me of your coming, and about your loss, though not in great detail. Ah, where are my manners? I am Coriakin, Master of this house, and Caretaker of the Dufflepuds. Though they would wish it otherwise.”

“Aslan…” Susan mused. “So we _are_ in Narnia?”

“Not exactly,” Coriakin said. “This island is quite some distance from the Land you remember, in the Eastern Sea.”

Susan nodded, wondering just how far out they were. She’d never been further than the Lone Islands before… She sighed, realising that there was no point in trying to deny Narnia anymore.

“I don’t suppose Aslan told you how long I’d be here?” she asked. “Or how I can get home?”

Coriakin shook his head sadly. “I am afraid not,” he said. “But he did say he would be here soon, to answer questions that you may have. In the meantime, may I offer my home as your own, Your Majesty?”

“Oh, just Susan would be fine,” Susan said. “Thank you for letting me stay.”

OoOoO

It was a little over a month before Aslan arrived, and in that time, Susan settled in well in Coriakin’s home. The Dufflepuds were delighted she was staying, even though they couldn’t understand why Susan _liked_ the ‘terrible magician’. Coriakin had created a special wardrobe for her that contained many sets of clothing and shoes for her, and her room was one with a breathtaking view of the ocean, with a balcony all to herself.

She spent a lot of her time in the library, which was filled to the brim with books she both had and hadn’t read in her other visits to Narnia. It was nostalgic to open a book that contained stories she’d read as one of four ruling monarchs, and exciting to read one that detailed a daring battle that had happened before her time, but hadn’t been recorded in Narnia. It was a Calormen book, one with only a few copies, all but this one in the great library in their capital.

Susan also often took walks through the gardens, and down to the beach. Tarton, who’d taken to shadowing her when she left the manor, would talk a lot about everything and nothing, not really making much sense to her most of the time. Then he would get distracted for one reason or another, run off, and Susan wouldn’t see him again for a bit until he came back and started talking once more. He repeated his stories a lot, but Susan indulged him fondly.

It was during one of her walks on the beach once Tarton had wandered off, that she suddenly realised someone was walking with her. And that someone was Aslan. Susan stopped in her tracks and turned to stare at him, eyes wide. She stared and stared, then looked away in shame as she remembered that she had forgotten Narnia in her quest to move on and have a happy life.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered to him, a single fat tear rolling down her cheek.

“For what, my daughter?” he asked her. “I sent you back to your world to live a happy life. And you were happy, weren’t you?”

Susan nodded. “Peter and the others didn’t believe me when I told them,” she said. “They thought I was hiding, pretending, and I suppose I was a bit. I just… I was _devastated_ when you told Peter and I we could never return. I was _trying_ to deal with that, but always talking about Narnia… It _hurt_ , Aslan. Especially when…”

She stopped, not really wanting to say the next part. But then Aslan said it for her.

“Especially when you’d left him behind,” he said sagely. “Caspian.”

Susan nodded, trying to hold back more tears. Then she looked up at him and asked, “Are you here to take me home now?”

Aslan sighed and raised his gaze to the sky. “No matter if you truly wish to return or stay, you cannot go back,” he said, then turned to her, his expression serious. “I am afraid you died that day, Susan.”

Shock rippled through her, even as a small part of her brain _knew_ it was the truth. Susan inhaled a sharp breath of air, closing her eyes in mourning.

“My parents as well?” she asked.

“Yes,” Aslan confirmed. “But there’s more. You saw your cousin on the train, correct?”

“I… I wasn’t sure,” she said.

“He was there, as was his friend Jill,” he told her. “But waiting for them at the station…”

_Don’t say it. Please don’t say it!_

“Your siblings, as well as Diggory and Polly,” were the words that tolled the final bell.

Tears welled up once more, and Susan wept when she’d thought she’d cried all that she could. Even though she didn’t weep as long, she still grieved for her family and her friends. Then a thought occurred to her, though it was some time before she could voice this thought.

“Are they… Did they… Are they here somewhere too?” she asked.

Aslan shook his head, his regal mane flowing with the movement. “They have all moved on to my Country,” he told her. “I brought you here, to give you another chance in this life.”

Susan wiped away at her tears. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Where the others went, all of this, all of Narnia, has ended,” he told her. “But here and now for you, it has been a mere three years since you and your siblings helped to overthrow Miraz and the Telmarine regime.”

Susan sucked in a breath. “Three years?” she asked. “Then he… Then Caspian is…”

“Alive, yes,” Aslan said. “I know that you had learned of his death after Eustace and Jill returned from Jill’s first visit here. I wanted to give you the chance to live your life here, with him.”

Susan’s heart soared briefly at this admission, and she flung herself at Aslan, holding him tight. He chuckled and raised a paw to hug her back. Then Susan pulled away as a thought occurred to her.

“If you brought me here for that, then why aren’t I in Narnia?” she asked.

“The King set sail a short while ago on a quest to track down seven of his father’s Lords,” Aslan told her. “He will be here soon. But know this; Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace are with him, this was your brother and sister’s last trip here, and your cousins first. They are, for all intents and purposes, from your past.”

Susan bit her lip. “I suppose you don’t want me to tell them about the rail accident?” she said.

“You may,” Aslan told her. “They will remember while they are here, but forget when they go back. And once they move on to my Country, they will remember again and be able to tell Peter and the others what happened with you.”

Aslan bent forward to breathe lightly upon her, filling her with a renewed vigour, before kissing her forehead briefly with his nose. “Be happy, my daughter,” he said. “I will see you again when they arrive on this island.”

And in the next moment, he was gone.

OoOoO

Shortly after that, Coriakin turned everyone on the island invisible.

He explained to Susan about the mist, and she wholeheartedly agreed, though the Dufflepuds weren’t so accommodating. They grumbled and complained, then started whispering about oppression and their rights to being visible. Coriakin ignored them for the most part, this was for their protection, after all. And Susan also let them be. Even though taking walks wasn’t as enjoyable when you were invisible, so she ended up spending most of her time indoors.

Susan was in the kitchens when Lucy arrived, coerced in by the Dufflepuds. She was sitting on a stool, eating a pastry and reading when Coriakin came in with Lucy and Aslan behind him.

“Susan!” Lucy cried, rushing over to her and engulfing her in a hug. “You’re here! You’re here! I can’t believe it!”

Susan had dropped her book and was partway choking on her pastry that had started to go down the wrong way with Lucy’s exuberant embrace. She awkwardly patted her sister’s back, coughing to regain her breath, before wrapping her up in a warm hug. Tears threatened, but she forced them away, though she couldn’t help but shake slightly. Lucy noticed anyway, and pulled back from her.

“Su? What’s wrong?”

The concern in her voice touched a tender nerve, and Susan broke down, telling her everything. There weren’t that many tears this time, honestly, she was pretty sure she’d used them all up by now. But she kept a tight grip on her sister’s hand all through the telling, even as Lucy’s eyes widened first in horror, then in sympathy and love.

“But Aslan brought you here, so you could meet with Caspian again,” Lucy said, speaking of the Lion who had, at some point, left with Coriakin. “That’s… Susan, he’s _outside right now_! Oh, how could I have forgotten! They must be so worried by now. Come on then, Su!”

Lucy grabbed her hand and started to lead her out, getting lost a couple of times, with Susan having to take over and point out the way. Finally they burst out of the front doors, to find Coriakin speaking with everyone who’d come up with Lucy. Susan saw Edmund, a surly looking Eustace, Reepicheep, and…

And _him_.

He was talking with Coriakin, nodding along to whatever the magician (a star, Susan had learned by now) was saying. Susan’s breath caught at the sight of him, he looked even more handsome than she remembered. She drank in the sight of him, even as Edmund looked up and saw her.

“Susan!” her brother shouted in joy, and she saw Caspian’s head jerk up in surprise.

Edmund came rushing up to her, gathering her in a firm embrace. Susan could tell he’d been here in Narnia for awhile, his grip was strong and tight. She hugged him back, matching his fervour, if not his strength. She closed her eyes and held him close, so glad she could see him and Lucy this one last time. Edmund pulled back, and questions started spilling from his lips. Susan looked over to see that Caspian had taken a few steps towards them, and was staring at her in wonder, like he couldn’t believe she was really here.

“How did you get here?” Edmund was asking. “Is Peter here too?”

Susan pulled her gaze away from Caspian and shook her head. “Just me,” she told him, but hesitated to tell him everything, after having just poured it all out to Lucy.

Edmund looked confused, but even as his mouth opened to ask more questions, Lucy stepped forward and grabbed his arm. “Come on, Ed,” she said. “I’ll tell you everything Susan just told me.”

Lucy shot a meaningful glance at Susan, then threw one to Caspian, before dragging her protesting brother away. Coriakin drew Reepicheep and the others away in conversation, even as Caspian hesitantly moved forward, closing the space between them until he was _almost_ in arm’s reach. He stared at her, she stared at him.

He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again, but before he could say anything, Susan spoke, “Come on, I know somewhere we can talk alone.”

Caspian nodded and followed her as she led him to one of her favourite spots in the gardens behind the manor. Once there, she headed straight for a stone bench next to a statue of a faun, and sat down on it. Caspian hesitantly followed suit. They stared at one another a moment once more, then Caspian tentatively reached a hand up, lightly brushing his fingers against her cheek, and she blushed at the feelings that caused.

“You’re really here,” he whispered. “But how? Aslan said you and King Peter could never return.”

“I’m back because I no longer exist in my world,” Susan told him, and taking note of his confusion, stated plainly, “I died. Aslan brought me here instead of to his Country so that I… so that _we…_ ”

Understanding alighted in his eyes, and Caspian smiled brightly. “I’m glad,” he whispered, then leaned in and brushed his lips ever so slightly against hers.

Susan sighed against his lips, feeling disappointed when he pulled away. So she reached up, grasped him by the collar, and pulled him to her in a deeper kiss. Caspian eagerly reciprocated, and soon, the two were engaged in a heavy kissing session. His hands threaded through her hair, even as hers explored the definition of his chest. Susan pulled away briefly to catch her breath, then dove in once more.

They sat there like that awhile, taking deep breaths between kissing, until finally Caspian fully pulled away. His hand lay at the side her her face, fingers buried in locks of her hair. “I am so glad you are here,” he told her. “My Queen. My _love_. I have missed you _so much_ these past three years.”

Susan smiled. “I’ve missed you too,” she said. “Though it’s been six years for me.”

Confusion curled his brow. “But Edmund and Lucy said it’s been only a year or so,” he said.

Susan sighed, hand reaching up to grasp his, pulling it down into her lap even as his other hand followed. “It’s a long story,” she said, and briefly explained what had happened.

Caspian looked horrified at the fact that her entire family was gone. “Oh, Susan!” he exclaimed kissing her forehead. “I am so sorry. That is something I would _never_ wish upon anyone.”

Susan remembered then that Caspian didn’t have any family left, either. Both his parents gone, even his uncle, as horrid as he’d been. And his Aunt and baby cousin had been among those who’d gone through the doorway that Aslan had opened up back to her own world.

“It’s alright,” Susan said. “I’m fine.”

And she realised she really was. She’d spent a lot of time grieving here, and Susan knew that she was ready to move on now with her life. There was no way she was ever going to forget them, _nothing_ could ever make her. But she knew that her parents and siblings only wanted her to be happy, even if Peter, Edmund, and Lucy hadn’t agreed with _how_ she’d been moving on before.

Susan stood then, Caspian’s hand still in hers as she pulled him to his feet. “Come on,” she said. “I’ll show you around.”

Caspian smiled and let her lead him along.

OoOoO

Later that night, after a hearty dinner and a meeting with Coriakin, Caspian found her in her chambers. Susan looked up from where she’d been reading, smiling at the sight of him. She stood, holding her hand out, and he came to her eagerly. Hours later, after learning everything they could about one another’s bodies, he whispered a question in her ear, his tickling breath sending shivers along her spine with those three words.

“ _Marry me, Susan_.”

She arched her back under his renewed ministrations, and whispered, “ _Yes, yes!_ ”

OoOoO

The following morning, Susan stood on the beach, side by side with Coriakin as Caspian, Edmund, Lucy and the others prepared to leave in their long boat.

“But why can’t Su come with us?” Edmund asked.

“I already told you, Ed,” Lucy said. “Aslan said she has to stay here until the Dawn Treader comes back!”

“But!”

“This is _your_ adventure,” Susan told him. “Yours and Lucy’s and Eustace’s. Don’t worry, Ed, you’ll see me again soon.”

“But we won’t remember this, right?” Lucy said sadly.

“You will one day,” she was told.

Edmund came forward and hugged her. “I love you, Su,” he told her fiercely. “We all do. Don’t ever forget that!”

“I love you too,” Susan choked out.

Lucy joined the hug then, and the three siblings embraced before the younger two pulled away. “I’ll see you in Aslan’s Country!” Lucy smiled through her tears.

They hopped into the long boat, leaving Susan with Caspian. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. “See you soon, my Queen,” he said. “Remember your promise to me last night.”

Susan blushed at the memory. “See you soon, my King,” she returned as he released her hand to fall at her side. “I won’t forget. I love you.”

“And I love you,” he told her, and boarded the long boat.

They kept their eyes upon one another until they were out of sight.

OoOoO

Susan tried to keep herself busy as she waited for them to return, but couldn’t focus on just the one thing. Coriakin had gifted her with a few of her favourite books to read, as well as one or two more he felt she’d like. When she’d tried to argue about removing them from his library, he’d told her that he could make copies if he wished to. Susan was also keeping the clothes from her wardrobe.

Tarton had bawled inconsolably when she’d told him that she was leaving, sobbing into her skirts and leaving a mess of tears and snot behind. Susan had comforted him as best she could, before going and changing, and setting the dress she’d been wearing to be washed. When she’d seen him again later, he was chipper again, apparently having forgotten all about his earlier wailing.

Susan and Coriakin spent a lot of time talking during this time, mostly about Aslan, and how he’d brought her here, despite the difference in times between their two worlds. In the end, Coriakin had been left with something new to study, though Susan wasn’t sure anyone would ever truly understand how Aslan worked.

At least, not unless he decided to tell them directly.

It was several weeks before the ship returned, not only less three humans from her world, but also less one mouse, as well. Apparently Reepicheep had kept going even when the others had turned back, headed straight for Aslan’s Country.

“It was what he wanted,” Caspian murmured into her hair as they sat side by side in the long boat that had come to get her. “What he’d dreamed of all his life.”

Susan’s farewells to Coriakin and the Dufflepuds had been sweet and filled with genuine regret that they would not likely meet again in this life. Coriakin gave her almost the same farewell that Lucy had when he said, “May we meet again one day in Aslan’s Country, if not in this one.”

Susan spent each night until they reached Narnia in Caspian’s cabin. _Without_ him, most times, unless he could get away from his Keepers in Drinian and Rhince.

“Think of the Queen’s reputation,” Drinian had drawled at his King, knowing quite well how frustrated Caspian was with him, though he didn’t seem to care. “Alone in a cabin with some fellow…”

“Some fellow?” Caspian asked indignantly, even as Susan giggled.

“Do as this worthy man tells you, there’s a good lad,” Rhince said, draping his arm over his King’s shoulder and leading him _away_ from Susan and the cabin.

They stopped over at the Lone Islands, dropping people off and staying for a night of celebration. Caspian and Susan managed to evade their Keepers that night, and in the morning it was a smug King that greeted his men. Of course, that just caused Drinian to up his game. Then they stopped in at the Seven Isles, where they were feasted for another night. Not to mention avoiding Drinian and Rhince, the latter of whom had sworn to see them home before returning to his family.

They came close to Terebinthia, but did not stay long upon learning that there was still a sickness there, though the message from their King had said it had started to abate. When they reached Galma they stayed a week, though a messenger was sent to Cair Paravel that the King would return within a seven-day.

Galma’s Duke welcomed them heartily, and Caspian and Susan got _separate_ rooms, especially when the Duke learned the two were to wed. “It’s only proper,” Duke Algar said, much to the annoyance of Caspian, and smugness of Drinian and Rhince.

Caspian only managed to sneak into Susan’s rooms _once_.

After a week of feasting and talking politics, they were off once more. Susan spent most of these days out on deck, watching for the first signs of _home_. Caspian divided his time between his men, and standing with her, holding her close as they watched for signs of the castle. But Susan was alone on deck, save for several crew members, when the man in the crow’s nest called out, “Cair Paravel, ho!”

Caspian, Drinian and the others came dashing up to the deck. “It’s really there,” Susan whispered as Caspian’s arms encircled her waist. “I’m really _home_.”

He smiled down at her. “Definitely home,” he agreed as he leaned down to kiss her.

And they stayed out there together until the ship docked and they were welcomed by a surprised, but obviously happy (even if he tried to deny it) Trumpkin.

OoOoO

_Many, many years later…_

Lucy was happy, delighted beyond measure, to be here. She, along with Peter, Edmund, Eustace, Jill, Professor Diggory, and Aunt Polly, were all here, together. Of course at first, Eustace and Jill hadn’t been with them, but they had eventually joined them, and what a tale they’d had to tell! Lucy was fascinated, and wished that she could meet the new Narnian King and all their other friends, too.

Yet something was niggling at her.

She stared at the doorway before them, which opened every now and then, and some one would come through. Mostly whoever came through was scared, but that fear left them as soon as they saw the rolling green hills and the Kings and Queens before them. Lucy had greeted several animals and creatures already, and most of them had moved further up and further in. (that phrase gave her a tiny shiver of anticipation)

The only negative thing was when a terrible creature had appeared when a cat had come through. Lucy remembered enough from all her times in Narnia to recognise the Calormen god, Tash, but she hadn’t really expected him to feel _that_ evil. She was ever so glad when he disappeared, and didn’t stick around each time he arrived.

Now, there was a Narnian before them, and Eustace and Jill were introducing him as that King she’d wanted to meet, King Tirian. Peter was speaking to him, answering a question that he’d asked. “My sister Susan, is no longer a friend of Narnia.”

Susan! That was what was bugging her! But why? Lucy glanced over at Edmund, and saw that he seemed affected by this as well. He was still talking and interacting with everyone, whereas Lucy was silent in her joy from just _being_ here. And yet Susan… Susan….

“Susan!”

Lucy hadn’t realised that she’d cried that out loud until Peter and the others gave her funny looks. Edmund seemed to remember just as she had as well. They stared at one another, and suddenly memories came rushing back.

“Peter! Peter!” Lucy exclaimed. “I remember now, Peter!”

“Calm yourself, Lucy,” Aunt Polly said. “What have you remembered?”

Lucy was bouncing up and down, barely containing her excitement at what she’d remembered. So Edmund answered, “She was on the train with mum and dad. The one Eustace and Jill were on. You know, the one that crashed into us?”

“How do you know this?” Professor Diggory asked.

“Because she was there in Narnia when we joined Caspian on the Dawn Treader,” Edmund said, then turned to Eustace. “Don’t _you_ remember?”

Eustace just shrugged. “If it was before the ‘dragoning’,” he said, “most of that’s blurry. Well, after the Lone Islands, anyway. I think I was delirious.”

“Aslan sent Susan to Coriakin’s island,” Lucy said, a huge grin on her face. “Peter… she lived out her life with _Caspian_!”

Peter’s eyes were wide with shock, and some hope. “So Su is…”

“Waiting for us in Aslan’s Country,” Professor Diggory surmised, then smiled. “Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.”

“Wait!” Eustace said, then exchanged looks with Jill. “That would mean that _Susan_ was Prince Rilian’s mother!”

Then he turned to King Tirian with a grin. “That means you’re _family_!”

Lucy’s eyes widened as she took in the sight of the last Narnian King with a new perspective. “Family,” she whispered, then rushed forward to hug Susan’s great-great… whatever… grandson.

After that, they were distracted by dwarves, dogs, Aslan, and the End of Narnia, and finally, they were all headed inwards in Aslan’s wake. (further up and further in!)

“I can’t wait to see Susan!” Lucy declared as she ran side by side with Edmund.

“We’re going to find out how her life here went,” Edmund grinned.

They reached the Garden, and Reepicheep came out to greet them. Lucy and Peter and Edmund rushed forward to greet him, followed by Eustace, then the Great Mouse led them in, where they met all their beloved friends that they had ever known in Narnia. And it was in there that Lucy finally set eyes on her sister, ever by Caspian’s side, and she rushed forward to embrace her, quicker than even Edmund and Peter.

She whispered in here ear, “I _told_ you I’d see you again in Aslan’s Country.”

And Susan laughed happily.


End file.
